Savior
by jenuinetears
Summary: A four-shot remake of Mai's duel with Marik and the aftermath. AU that doesn't affect the overall YGO plot. Polarshipping MaixJoey. R&R? COMPLETE AND EDITED!
1. Memories

Summary of Chapter 1: This is a four-shot of Mai's duel with Marik, her experience in the Shadow Realm, and the aftermath. Contains AU (that doesn't affect YGO in the long term) and slight swearing, Joey x Mai.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, and I never will. ;_;

~(-)~

"No, Joey! Please don't go!" I pleaded helplessly.

"So, how does it feel to have your mind wiped clean of two dear friends?" Marik said maliciously, his smile more wicked than you could ever imagine on a human.

"He's slipping away, I can barely see him… I feel so alone." I hated it. My voice sounded so pitiful, but I couldn't help it. Without Joey, what was I? I couldn't forget him! He was even more important than Yugi! Without him, I'm nothing! Back to being alone…

***flashback of her past***

(Mai's standing in a room, staring at the window with a storm raging outside.)

_It's nothing new. It feels just like the loneliness I felt when I was a kid. My family, always moving, never having any friends, my parents always too busy to spend time with me. I had nobody…_

(Now she's standing in a ship's inside, dueling a man. She holds up a harpy lady card, and smiles.)

_Even after I got my first job and discovered Duel Monsters, I was still just a lonely kid. The powerful Harpy cards I kept in my deck were the closest things I had to friends._

_But as cool and powerful as my Harpies were, deep down inside I knew they weren't real. So I just pretty much decided that I was meant to be alone! To play by my own rules, until that day on the boat to Duelist Kingdom, when everything changed…_

(We enter a scene where she is on a boat, with a pack slung over her shoulder and people everywhere. Mai walks over to Yugi and Joey, who are leaning over the ship's hull.)

_As soon as I saw those guys, I felt something I never felt before…_

_Friendship._

(We are now in the woods, where a fire is blazing, and Mai, Yugi and everyone are around it.)

_The more I hung around them, the more they began to grow on me._

(In the memory, Joey is moving his arms like a chicken and bakking.)

"So, what do you think?"

He grins ruefully.

"Pretty good imitation of Kaiba, right?"

_Sure they were a little weird at times, but they were nice weirdos. And soon my loneliness was gone. But now I'm losing the only real friends I've ever had!_

***flashback ends***

"No, I'm just a lonely kid again," I said this, feeling the same anguish plague me like a sickness.

Marik cackled like the psychopath he was.

"Yes, feel the pain. The heartbreak… the torment of losing your mind!"

He mumbled something about shadow games, then started speaking loudly again.

"NOW SAY GOODBYE!"

Joey's image appeared before me, then shatterd.

"JOEY'S GONE FOREVER!"

I stared at the glass-like shards falling before me.

"Your memory of Joey has been erased!"

I fell to the ground, my head hurting like hell. What had happened? What happened to my mind? If felt like something was missing inside me, like a memory, of someone important!

I turned to the side, where a voice was talking.

"Hey! Mai! Look at me! How can you forget a mutt like this? Mai, over here! It's me, Joey Wheeler! Duelist extraordinaire!"

What was this voice? It came from something at the side, some sort of blank thing there, that I couldn't see!

But I wasn't on top of the blimp anymore. The world around me was fading, and I was in some sort of realm, where the clouds were eerie dark green-black, and wisps of clouds were around me. Where was I? What had happened to me? Was I in an alternate universe?

I heard voices from…outside. The same male voice that had been calling me from nowhere was talking again. The one that said he was Joey Wheel or something. It felt like I had amnesia or something. I couldn't even remember what he said five seconds ago!

"Yugi! Do something, anything! We gotta get Mai outta that place! Use your Millennium Puzzle, or something like dat!"

A man's voice, a lot deeper than the former's, spoke.

"I'm trying, Joey. But it seems that Marik's hold on Mai's mind is stronger than I thought. It feels like nothing can enter it, even with the power of my Millennium Puzzle. I can sense I path where I can get it, but it feels like I'm not strong enough…"

My mind? I was inside my mind? Where those voices coming from outside, in reality?

"You gotta get through, man! This is Mai we're talking about! You gotta help her… you just gotta!"

Then a female's voice came from out there. It was the same voice that tried to speak to me earlier.

"Joey, Yugi's trying his best, but he can't get through. Maybe this is something Mai needs to do herself, Joey…"

"No, it ain't! Mai has friends like us for a reason! I will never, ever let her down!"

Another male voice spoke. He sounded fairly annoyed, like he was used to this.

"Dude, Yugi's trying his best, there's nothing better than his best! Stop bugging him! If you want to save Mai so bad, you try!"

Another guy spoke, with a slightly agitated tone.

"Tristan, stop! He's just fighting for someone he cares for!"

Joey spoke again, and he spoke them with grim determination.

"I don't need ya to defend me, Duke. Tristan, I think I will!"

Another female out there gasped.

What did he mean? Was he going to try and reach my mind with something? I wasn't a container!

The Joey guy spoke again.

"Ok, Yugi, try to reach Mai like you did earlier. Then I'll grip the Millennium Puzzle, and I'll try to enter her mind!"

I heard the deep-voiced man, Yugi, grunting, and he did something. What was he doing? Summoning his powers?

He spoke.

"Ok, Joey, now grip the Millennium Puzzle, and try to reach her!"

There was a flash in the dark place I was in. I turned around, and I saw two things. First I saw a crazy-haired man behind me. His gray hair swirled everywhere, and his eyes glinted with madness. I felt something trigger within me. The memories were coming back. And as I was doing so, the land I was in started changing and swirling. I really was in my mind!

The light continued shining behind… Marik. That was his name! I just remember that… and that he was trying to hurt me earlier!

Someone stepped through the light. It was a guy with slightly golden blond hair, and his eyes were a dark hazel. He had on a white and black shirt, and his lip was bitten in determination.

"You!" Marik screamed. "What are you doing here, brat?"

He spoke again, with a familiar voice. It was the Joey guy!

"Come on, Mai! You can remember me! It's me, Joey! Your best bud!"

"Joey…?" I whispered, my mind straining to remember. Something was coming, hidden beneath the darkness, there were memories…

The darkness around me- my mind..? Well, it was changing. It wasn't so dark anymore, it became brighter and brighter, and suddenly everything came back.

"Joey!" I screamed. I stared at him, wondering how he ever got in here. Then I remembered. When I didn't remember who everyone was, he and Yugi worked together to get into my mind. But how do I get back? I was trapped in my mind, in this dark, desolate place.

"You can get outta here!" he said, with his Brooklyn accent coming out more, because of his emotion. "Just… try and rememba about us, my an' Yugi and all of ya other friends, and how we support you, and how ya were dueling Marik, and how he trapped you in your mind, and that you needa get out! Do you get it now? You just needa think hard about all of us, and how we'll always support ya…"

"BE QUIET!" Marik's voice boomed through my mind, almost giving me a headache. I needed to get out of here.

I tried, I really did, but something was preventing me from doing so. Something in my mind was blocking the path to the real world, a worry, a dark thing….

"Joey," I said softly," was I really not in your dream?"

That was the thing that was bothering me. Why would Joey even try and help me if he didn't even consider me a friend? Maybe he was just trying to play hero, and save the damsel in distress. Was I really, really destined to be forever alone?

Joey's cheeks inflamed with my words.

"Of course you were in my dream, Mai!"

"You're lying," I accused. He sounded really nervous.

"It…it…I just didn't want you to know that you in my dream, Mai! W-wouldn't it be so awkward if you knew I was dreamin' bout ya? I mean, it's OK for Tea to be in my dream, cause we all know that we don't like each other that way, but for you to be in my dream, er, well… dat's an entirely new story! I mean, like, you're real pretty an' all, and, well, everybody knows we're friends, so, um, yeah, well…" he continued rambling like an idiot, but I sensed the truth in his words. And a double meaning.

"I believe you, Joey," I said, then winked. He flushed.

Marik looked between us two, his expression angry, because he didn't know what we were walking about and thus couldn't use it against us.

Then I closed my eyes and I tried to go back, and I remembered, and the whole time Joey's blushing face was burning in my brain, and then I was back in the world of reality.

Everything was clear now. I had been dueling Marik, and he had been trying to erase the memories of all my friends. Joey, Tea, who would it have been next? But the important thing was that Joey had saved me.

With the help of my friends, I could conquer anything.

But then I looked at Joey in the sidelines. Something stirred within me.

Maybe a person more important than a friend.

I turned back to Marik. He grinned evilly, once again.

"Is the danger perhaps a little too real for you?"

"Not even close," I retorted. "Your head games don't scare me, sweetheart."

"Suit yourself. But realized when I'm through with you, your brain will be nothing but an empty shell!"

"Well bring it on, Marik," I replied, with my hand thrust into a fist. I lifted it up into the air. "I've never backed down from a duel, and I won't start now!"

"Hm," he exclaimed, with attitude. "Then prepare to lose your mind!"

"Guess we'll see," I said. "So give the scare tactics a rest and get ready buddy, cause now it's my turn!"

~(-)~

Who was Who when Mai didn't have her Memories?  
Joey was pretty obvious. Yami Yugi was the guy with the deep voice, and the two that were about to argue were Tristan and Duke, in that order. Tea was the female who spoke, and Serenity was the girl who gasped. Marik was the guy with the grey hair (who else? :P)

Okay, I know I changed a lot of things.

First, I changed the fact that it was Joey who helped Mai. I know how heroic Yami Yugi is, blah blah blah, but really, I don't think he has a strong enough bond with Mai to convince her to come out of her mind.

Second, I made it do that Mai could hear the voices of everybody cheering for her. That was the only way I could describe the plot.

Third, I made it so that Mai got her memories of Joey and Tea back. Mai fell into the pit of her mind because she lost Joey. She would not get all magical and be able to get out of her mind just because of Yami Yugi's inspirational words. Joey had to come back.

Next chapter I'll be describing the end of Mai's duel, which has a very different ending than the actual.

Was it good? Bad? Well tell me, by pressing the little review button down there! ^3^


	2. Torture

The second part of this four-shot. This is in Joey's POV, while Marik is trapping Mai with that spell card. Read on! :D

Disclaimer: If I owned YGO, then there would be an epilogue episode where Joey and Mai got together. :)

~(-)~

This... this couldn't be happening! What was he doing to me? That Sacred Stone of Ojhat thing appeared behind me, and I could feel its untapped power like a presence. What was happening? Marik still hadn't described the power of it, and I almost didn't want to hear it, in fear. I had no cards on my side of the field; that 'Holding Legs' card took care of that. Now that Gravity Bind had been set back to my hand, I had no protection from Marik's brutal assault!

"What's going on?"

"Well, with no monsters, I'm able to attack your life points directly!"

"So be prepared to lose everything right now! Go 'Holding Arms' and 'Holding Legs', SEIZE HER!"

"Eahhhhh!"

The two monsters set out to attack me. 'Holding arms' had its rings circle each of my wrists, and then with a flash of bright light, they were on me. 'Holding Legs' did the same thing, but to my ankles.

"Augh! Eumph!" No matter how hard I tried, his monsters would loosen their grasp. This felt unreal!

"Comfortable? Well the worst is yet to come!"

"So stand back!"

His two hand-and-arm-cuffing servants pulled me back, right into the wall of Ojhat. The eyes and rings on each monster seemed to set back into the wall, making this my real prison. My arms and legs were rendered useless. Nothing I did could seem to break their grasp; no matter how hard I struggled, they just held on tighter.

"Oh, no!"

"Oh, yes!"

I twisted and turning like a writhing snake, but nothing could be done.

"Hey! I can't move! What kind of hologram is this?"

"I never said that was a hologram. You and I are playing a shadow game. Or don't you remember? Whatever happens here is real! Now attack her life points at once!"

This wasn't Duel Monsters any more- the full realization of his power dawned on me. He had the full power of the shadows on his command! First he'd tried to erase my memories of Tea and Joey, and had succeeded for a time. Now his monsters really were attacking me; it felt like my hand and legs were really being shocked!

"Ahhh! Eur…Ugh."

The only things I could say anymore were sounds of pain. My head fell forward like I was a limp rag doll. If I wasn't strapped to that Ojhet wall, then I would've fallen forward, whimpering in pain. Even though I couldn't see my life points meter anymore, I could do the calculations. My life points fell to eight hundred. In a part of my mind, a small voice asked me if these were my real life points.

"Mai! Are you all right?"

His voice…it helped me hang on… longer…Joey…ugh… all I felt was unrealistic pain, what was the point of holding on longer?

"Hahahaha! Your petty little friends can't even help you anymore!"

Was it true? Could Joey and Yugi and everybody else just watch like terrified bystanders?

"That's a lie!"

Yugi and Joey both called out at the same time, both their voices filled to the brim with determination. Yugi was fighting for me as a friend; Joey was fighting for something deeper…

Marik turned away from me to Yugi.

"I don't need you intruding on my shadow game again. You and I will duel soon enough… and things are beginning to get interesting up here. For it's time to awaken the Winged Dragon of Ra!"

The eye symbol glowed even brighter on Marik's forehead. The yellow light was… unearthly.

"By reciting the ancient chant, and reclaiming my great beast, so I can finish this duel once and for all!"

Away in the sidelines, I could hear Tea .

"If Marik get's control of that things, Mai's gonna be in major trouble!"

I didn't need to be told that. I could see it in my own eyes- Marik was reciting that chant, and rays of light were coming out of Ra's ball form. Marik was awakening the god within!

The great beast's wings unfolded, sending light upon us all. It was like a little chick hatching, except Ra was much more powerful. Finally, he finished his transformation. Now, he was all powerful, with his red eyes glinting, yellow body gleaming, and beak unfolded in a roar.

"Behold- my great beast, the most powerful of all the Egyptian god monsters! It's time now…to end this duel! Hahahahahahahaha!"

"Just hang in there Mai!"

Joey's voice called out. But what was the point to holding on? That beast had five thousand four hundred attack points- all because of the sacrificing of my Harpy ladies. My Harpy ladies were gone, my ability to move was gone, and so was my will… what could I do?

"Haha…such a pity it has to end like this, my dear... your mind is a mere shadow of its former self, and it's growing even dimmer! And chained to that stone, you can't reach your deck!"

"No…" I said, but my voice was weak, and I had nothing to defend me…

"As soon as my monster attacks, your world will crumble!"

"Hey Yug, we gotta stop this."

I only wished Joey could…

"That's enough! Leave Mai alone. Your grudge is against me, not her!"

Yugi called this out as a last resort. Did manners matter to such a madman?

"That's true, Pharaoh, but I'm just having a little fun up here. There's nothing I like more than toying with someone's mind."

Something within me shook with anger. I was NOT just a mere toy. Bull! I was Mai Valentine, and I was exceptional duelist, semi-finalist in Duelist Kingdom! A sudden burst of strength formed within me, but within a second it died.

"Marik…!" Yugi's voice rang out, deep and angry.

"Don't worry, we'll face each other soon. It's something I've been waiting for since my family insisted I bear the ancient scriptures my back… cursed to bear the secret of the pharaoh's power until his return!"

What the hell was that guy talking about? Ancient Egyptian stuff? Pharaohs? I was trapped by Marik in his monster's grasps, and they wanted to do a history lesson?

Yugi gasped loudly.

"The pharoh's secret?"

"And although this duty has brought much honor to the Ishtar name, it has brought me nothing but great suffering and despair! For generations my family has waited hopelessly for the pharaoh's return. Ahahahaha! Except for me. Serving the ancient pharaoh is a game for fools! Giving up my life just to play servant to a 5,000 year old king? When all along I hold the key to his great power? I shall become the king!"

He face was pure insanity; the light from the eye on his forehead kept glowing, his earrings moved with every step he took, his eyes narrowed and widened like they had nothing else to do, and his crooked smile sent shivers down my spine.

"I always knew I was destined for greatness, I just need to collect all the right pieces so I can put together my destiny!"

"This madness has to stop! Understand? Right now!"

Yay, then finally got back to Ms. Valentine stuck on a wall. If I had the energy, I would've made a sarcastic comment. But all my strength was sapped away…

"Haha! This madness has just begun! Tormenting your little friend's mind up here is merely practice! For soon you shall suffer! Hahahahaha! While the world finally cowers in fear before me!"

He turned back to me- his victim. I didn't want to know how helpless I looked at the moment.

"This shadow game is over! Hahahahaha! The time has come- to trap your mind in the shadows forever!"

A slither of fear snaked its way into my heart. No, no! This was all wrong. I was Mai Valentine… elite duelist… woman with all her strength taken away…

"No, it's all over," I spoke accidentally. I didn't want people to realize how helpless I was. But why would it matter? They all knew how fragile I was right now…

"Well put, my dear. You're about to feel the rage of the gods! Winged Dragon of Ra, direct attack!"

Both Serenity and Tea screamed.

"Look out, Mai!"

Marik's wide eyes leered at me.

"Farewell."

I closed my eyes, signifying my defeat. I wanted this to be all over, without the pain…

"Hey! Mai!"

I reopened my eyes, to see one Joey Wheeler standing in front of me. What was he doing? Why was he on the dueling field? Or had I already been attacked, and was I dreaming?

"I'll getcha outta this," he muttered. Then he looked me in the eyes.

"Don't worry. You're gonna be all right."

"Joey…?"

"Big brother!"

Serenity's voice was pitched high with fear

"Please be careful!"

Tea feared for both of us.

"It won't budge! Nyeh! Eh!" He was trying to move the 'holding arms' card that held me back. But it was no use- they were holding me to the wall like magic superglue.

"Joey…" I whispered."Stop doing this. You're just going to get hurt. If you just let me get attacked, I'll be the only one who'll get injured…and you'll be safe."

"No!"

For a moment, I thought I saw tears glinting in his eyes.

"I'm not gonna leave you, Mai! You're… you're important to me, and if ya got hurt while I did nothing, I'd never forgive myself!"

When I looked into his eyes again, I saw something there. A passion, something in him that really did care, and I cherished it. But I didn't want him to get hurt when it could've been just me.

"Joey, please go," I pleaded.

"No!" He exclaimed again.

In the background, Marik was laughing again. His laughter seemed to echo across the sky, louder than a gunshot, more insane than a mad scientist.

"Joey, please!" My voice was ringed with desperation; I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes, and I wanted them to not be there, but another part of my just wanted to let go.

"I...gotta…get…you…outta this!"

Then suddenly Ra's attack was unleashed, and the pure gold power was coming towards us at a heart-stopping rate; in the corner of my eye I could see Yugi, who was suddenly on top of the blimp too, jump to take the attack; but miss; and then the flames hit Joey; who was nearly doubling over in pain, but still refusing to stop protecting me.

"JOEY!"

All the anguish I felt was put into that yell. He looked up at me, with a face pinched in pain but with eyes shining like shooting stars.

"Don't worry, Mai," he cried. "I'm protecting ya!"

Then Ra's attack seemed to lessen for a moment, and Joey visibly relaxed. Then the flames came harder than ever, pure power unleashing from the God's beak.

Marik laughed insanely while Yugi watched near us, restricted by Roland.

"Stop, Marik! You have no grudge against Joey! Leave him and Mai ALONE!"

Marik only laughed harder while I sobbed for Joey, and he cried out in pain once more.

"JOEY!" Sobs racked my body while I was held to that blasted wall.

Then, finally, the horror was over. Joey collapsed to the ground in pain, and the wall of Ojhat and the two holding cards disappeared. I fell to the ground in defeat.

Ra let out one final, victorious cry, and then disappeared. Marik walked over to us, with that smile plastered on his face once again.

"Well well, Miss Valentine, it looks like you've lost this battle."

All I could do was crawl over, on my knees, to Joey's fallen figure.

"Joey…"

"He's going to be alright, Mai," Yugi's voice said. Roland had finally let him go since the duel ended, and he went over to Joey.

Marik then looked to Roland, like he was looking to someone inferior.

"I'm waiting. Her life points are gone, so announce me as the winner."

Roland looked at Kaiba sheepishly, then raised his arm in the direction of Marik.

"The winner of this duel is Marik Ishtar!" he cried.

Marik then stared at Roland for a moment, nodded in satisfaction, and then turned to stare at me, Joey and Yugi. He started walking over to us, with a smile like a predator's.

"Let's look at the damage," he said, with his smile glimmering in the night. "And cause some more."

"Marik, stop this right now! You've hurt us all, and there's no need for you to continue!"

"Oh yes there is," he said cynically, his eyes bugging out in pure joy. "The shadows are hungry, and since Miss Valentine lost the duel, she's here to feed them."

"No…" Joey's weak voice called out from next to me, his voice small, and frail, but still there. "Take…me…instead..."

"There's no need to be a hero once again, fool. This girl is mine!"

I screamed and tried backing away from the beast. I was sure my face was the physical form of terror, all I would feel was the fear, oh, the fear!

"No! If you're going to take her, take…me…too!"

"No, Joey!"

Joey's eyes bore into me, and I saw his will to protect me. The tears in my eyes came out faster. Yugi just stared at Marik, his lip bitten and a 'grr' coming out of his mouth.

"I can't take you just yet, foolish boy. You turn will come soon enough. If I give the shadows too much in one go, they'll get greedy and I won't be able to control them!"

His insane laughter rang across the whole sky again while I cringed in fear. He then lifted up my hand, and looked at my duel disk. I wondered what he was doing until he pocketed his Egyptian God. Then he whipped out his rod, and pointed it at me.

"Now that I have my god back, say your last words to Mai Valentine!"

"Mai!" Yugi's voice next to me suddenly seemed to be getting farther and farther away.

"No, Mai!" All the people in the sidelines were slowly ebbing away, until the only one person remained.

"No…!" Joey's last word came just as the last of the shadows swam over my eyes.

"Goodbye, my dear!" Marik's voice was the last thing I heard.

I felt Joey's warm hand caress my face before I lost the connection to my physical body, and I was engulfed in the shadows.

~(-)~

Ahahaha yes, more changes! :D Some of them might've been spur-of-the-moment things, but I had fun. Eh, except for the MaixJoey sadness! I apologize for any spelling or grammatical errors, once again. If you spot any, please tell me!

I tried not to bask Yami Marik. It was hard. :/ I also tried to make Mai as spunky as possible, but I don't know if I succeeded. Joey was your typical I-must-save-the-girl guy. :D

Was it good? Bad? Tell me, and don't lie! Please review!


	3. Prison

Yay! I finally posted this chapter, after a MONTH of not updating! Three cheers for procrastination, folks.

Disclaimer: I don't own YGO. I wish I did.

~(-)~

I felt a warm hand touch the side of my face, before I lost contact with my physical body… and got trapped in my mind.

"No!" I screamed. It felt like I was falling, falling into deeper shadows, and then pitch blackness.

"Joey!"

My cries echoed in this place, as if it were a giant cave. Despair seemed to swirl around me, like a giant suffocating cloud. Memories came into my head from nowhere, things I hadn't thought of in years. When I was a teen in grade school, my parents had gone to a long trip to Sweden. I was waiting to see them. I'd exceeded even my own expectations for grades, and I was eager to show them. They waved it off like it was nothing. Crushed, my grades plummeted, and I couldn't get into college, which was why I had to serve as a card dealer in a casino. A lowly job compared to what I could've done.

I thought I'd sealed that memory away years ago. When I became a card dealer on that ship, I vowed to never think of my past again.

But the memories kept coming back. I remembered those girls in younger grades who tried to be my friend but then got scared by my attitude. The boys in elementary school that ignored me. The boys in junior high that noticed me once I went through puberty. Those bitches in high school that treated me like I was the gunk on their shoes.

All of them never tried to see the real person inside me. Unlike Joey… he tried to see the true person inside me, and helped me to see through my lust for money and wealth. He'd helped me more than he would ever realize.

But before I could think about him anymore, memories of my past kept resurfacing. It was like I was in a bog of bad memories.

The deeper I fell, the more I dug into the past. And the more I hated myself for what I used to be.

"Ahahahaha…now that I've seen the depths of your mind, I can create your worst nightmare!"

A ghost of Marik's image appeared mere inches from my face. It was startling, almost scary, to see a real face after bout after bout of people of the past. He laughed out loud again, breaking my moment of dizziness, and bringing my mind back into clarity.

"Stop already, maniac! Getting my memories of Tea and Joey erased was bad enough, and then you had to mess with my mind! Then I remembered all my old memories! Just… just… STOP! It's been painful enough!"

I wanted to punch him, to kick him, to just make him go through the pain that I went through. Hatred seared through me, filling my limbs with undeniable strength, and there was rage, pounding so hard that my brain hurt.

Marik laughed.

"It's so entertaining," he cackled. "You think you can hurt me and make me feel pain, but here we are, in your mind, with me in control."

I opened my mouth to speak, but he interrupted me.

"I have the perfect mind game for you, Mai Valentine. A never ending nightmare customized just for you… you're going to love it."

He swung his arm dramatically, and I halted in my fall through this endless pit of darkness. Then I started to fall once more, so hard that my stomach lurched and my muscles ached.

Then I landed with a thud. I couldn't even tell apart the ground I was standing on from the space above it. It was just pitch black, darker than the sky on the coldest night of the year, more cold that the scariest black hole. I was just in pure, black, darkness. It wasn't even black; it was darker, more sinister.

Then an image appeared before me, the image of all my friends. Joey, Yugi, Tea, Tristan, everyone. A photograph of every single person that didn't just leave me alone, but decided to help me.

But then before my very own eyes, the picture shattered. Pieces of everyone flew about me like I was in a raging storm, they flew into my hair, my face, my clothes. Thousands upon thousands of puzzle pieces were around me.

My heart beat in my chest like a race horse's hooves. The puzzle pieces were calling to me, voices just like my friends.

"Mai… help…" Tea's and Serenity's voices were so pitiful, so sad, they made tears spring into my eyes.

"Mai, you've got to help us," moaned Tristen and Duke. They were both the manly ones who never called for help. It hurt to see them resorting to this, those boys.

Then Yugi spoke, and I felt shame wash over me.

"You have to help us, Mai!"

Yugi was scared, ever so scared, and just so desperate. He wasn't supposed to be like this. He had a good heart, a strong mind, he was supposed to know what to do in every situation.

And then he spoke.

"Mai…"

One word to convey so many things, one word that was filled with so many emotions, it made my heart cry and cry like there was no end. My heart was ripping in two like a simple sheet of paper. Nothing could be right again.

It was then that I had to start putting the thousands of pieces together. I had to hold onto that hope that once my friends were put together, they would be fine. My heart left me with no other option, nothing else that was sane. I had to do this, this impossible task before me. No other option…

So much time passed until I found two pieces that fit. When they were stuck together, they melded together as if magical glue bound them together. I had pieced together part of Joey's strong, hazel left eye.

I walked around, gathering pieces into piles. There were so many puzzle pieces, so little hope, yet so much time. I slowly began to form Joey's face.

An eternity later, I was ready to die. Only part of Joey's face was before me, his nose, eyes, and mouth curved into a smile. That smile tortured me. I could hear him and the others, begging me to piece them together. I wanted to die then and there.

I formed the rest of his face. I could see the edge of his face now, and the tips of the strands of some astray blond hair. My eyes were sore from looking, my hands sick of trying to put in piece after piece. I fell into an unconsciousness.

I dreamed a nightmare. Joey, Yugi, Tea, Serenity, Duke, and Tristan were all staring at me sadly, like a bunch of deserted puppies.

"Help us, Mai," they all chanted listlessly, the words slipping out of their mouths, heavy and dripping. They said it over, over, until I wanted to die again.

I woke up sweating like I just ran a marathon. The image of my zombie-like friends was seared in my brain, burning, burning, all while I stared at Joey's face. I tried to continue piecing him together.

Help me, too, the other begged, sounding like small children.

I must help Joey first, I defended, which was my only response. Their voices slowly faded away.

~(-)~

"I'm going to get your mind back. I promise, you'll be dueling again in no time!"

It had been timeless agony while I was binding together Joey's body. His voice… I wanted to hear it again. And again. It would break this silence.

Then their voices were gone, and I was left in my prison, clutching my chest and breathing like mad. The darkness around me seemed even darker than before… I felt like my heart and mind was slowly being encased into a block of ice, and even feeling it made me shiver.

Joey's gazel eyes stared at me, dead, cold, pleading. They were sad, too. Sad because of anguish, pain. So, so much unlike the Joey I knew. I murmered his name, then continued gathering the pieces of his neck and trying to bind them together. Joey was fighting for me. I would fight for him too.

~(-)~

"I summon…Gearfried the Iron Knight!" he tried to cry out his words, but his voice was weak. What was happening…?

"NO! This can't be possible!" Marik cried. He sounded scared, much more scared than when him and I were dueling.

"Hurry up and call your attack Joey!" Serenity screeched. I could feel the madness in her trying to break through.

"Joey, no!" Yugi screamed.

The voices startled me. I lifted me head stiffly from my craning position, where I was placing the puzzle pieces of Joey's forearms. His face, neck, and upper torso had been completed except for his arms. The drive within me wouldn't stop, I had to complete Joey. His face was full of pain, almost identical to the expression he held while being blasted by Ra. I didn't enjoy seeing him writhing, but it made me continue assembling the pieces. I had to make him whole again, and make him happy, I had to.

My heart felt like it was all ice. I wanted to die. Again.

~(-)~

Joey was finished. Every single part of his body was there, his head, torso, and lower body. I thought that something would happen… but nothing did. And then I jerked forward. Pain filled every crevice of my head, a giant headache. I fell to the ground, twitching in pain, and then I heard Marik's voice.

"You thought that it was going to be that easy, Miss Valentine? Nobody escapes from the Shadow Realm, my dear, even by completing part of a little puzzle. How I love toying with someone's mind, filling up their mind with hope, and then shattering their petty dreams. Goodbye, Miss Valetine."

The pain reached a maximum. And then I felt nothing, just nothing. I was nonexistent. I always was. How stupid of me, to think that people actually cared! Joey just wanted to save me, be the Knight in shining armor! I was nothing! Nobody….cared!

Then my heart was in its prison of ice, and I felt nothing, said nothing, couldn't do anything.

Joey, save me. I don't deserve to be saved, but I want it anyways. Be my hero, be my savior, be whatever you want to be, so long as you rescue me. I don't care if you just want to save the damsel, me, Mai Valentine. Just get me away from this place, all I feel is nothing, all I can do is nothing, the only action I can do is wish. Save me…

The ice was all around me, making me want to shiver, but not being able to. I didn't want to feel the pain; I wanted to be able to get away. But I couldn't do anything. My free will was being stripped away from me, until I felt like I was a motionless human shell.

Pain. Emptiness.

And I could do nothing.

~(-)~

Ohmigawd. I hate writing angst. It makes me feel sad.

Dear Reader: yeah, I don't know where that puzzle idea came from either. I don't even like puzzles! Blame the Millenium Puzzle for the theme. I just didn't like Mai's shadow world, I thought that it wasn't harsh enough. Dude, those sand grains falling would've, um, blinded her. Yeah.

Mai went kinda crazy towards the end, I know. Marik was manipulating her mind until it was a twisted form of itself with confidence issues. I don't know if it came out right; I think it was a bit rushed.

I don't really like this chapter, even though I spent so much time on it. I'm sorry if there are any spelling/grammar mistakes.

R&R for this horrible chappie?


	4. Savior

Woot woot! It's the final chapter! ^^;

Disclaimer: I don't own YGO, yada yada yada. On with the story!

~(-)~

"She should be back now," the doctor mumbled.

"What do you mean, should?" I replied, worried. "Isn't Mai…already coming back?"

Marik had just been defeated, and his grip on Mai's conscious should be _gone_.

"I don't know!" the doctor said exasperatingly. "Do you _think_ I've had a patient whose mind was muddled up by ancient Egyptian artifacts before?"

With an angry huff, he went to check on Bakura in the next room.

"Sorry," I muttered. He was the doctor. He was supposed to know if she was going to be OK. Why hadn't she been released, anyways? Was his grip on Mai's mind too strong? Had her mental prison gotten a mind of its own?

What was Big Brother going to say?

~(-)~

"Serenity! Is Mai OK now?!?" I shoved open the room door, it wasn't automatically opening fast enough. I could imagine Kaiba sniping at me for abusing his machinery, but I didn't care. All that mattered was if Mai was fine. The others slowly entered the room behind me, but stayed silent.

"She's not up," Serenity sighed, as she looked towards me.

"No way! What gives?" Now that Marik's evil half had been vanquished, why wasn't she up yet?

"I don't know… I think that her mind feels that Marik is still trapping her, even though she was released. Maybe she can get free, but she's stuck…"

"Wake up, Mai!" I walked over to her still body, so fragile an unprotected. She wasn't supposed to be this way; she was supposed to be all fine and dandy, _what was wrong?_ I was already by her bedside before I could feel myself moving, and Serenity was behind me, not saying anything.

Tears formed in my eyes and rolled down my face, slow and unrushed, like a monotone of tears instead of music. One dropped down and landed on her face that was surrounded by her swarm of golden curls. Her lips were parted slightly, like she had something to say but never got it out.

With my finger I wiped the droplet away, and her face was perfect again. No, it wasn't perfect. If her face had been perfect, those amethyst eyes would be open, shining bright like a butterfly's wings in the sunlight. They weren't.

"MAI!" I cried in a jagged, pained voice.

~(-)~

A trickle of warmth glided through my body, golden and wonderful. His hazel eyes were peering at me through the veil of darkness, not sad and betrayed, but sad in a desperate way. All I could see was darkness and his eyes piercing through.

"Wake up, Mai!"

I heard his voice through my void. I felt his finger wipe away from my cheek, and I realized it was his _tear_, he was crying for me, for goodness' sake! But I could see nothing but his hazel eyes. I had to see him, right now. Something told me that I wasn't trapped here anymore.

With one last spurn of determination, I pushed.

Then I was spinning and whirling, and then I was there, back in reality, my body safe and sound, my body in check.

"Joey!" I screamed, and I was staring up at him, bright eyes alert and lips formed into the sweetest smile I could muster.

"Mai!" He replied, and for the tiniest second it was just us two, staring at each other, purple against hazel, burning with an intensity that would rival the sun.

Our faces were so close. His golden blond hair was in reach, and if I wanted to, I could touch it. But that wasn't what I sought to do.

Feeling more confident than I had in an age, I put my arms around his neck. And I closed the distance.

My lips were against his, sweet and wonderful. I thought the moment would never end.

But alas, there were people in the room, and you can't make out peacefully when there are bystanders. They don't like it, and you don't want to rob them of their innocence.

So the moment was broken.

~(-)~

"Bye guys… be good!" I waved one last time before turning to go to my car.

Once I got there, I didn't get in. I just waited. And soon enough, Joey came by.

We didn't even need to speak. We just stared at each other, two ditzy blonds in love. Once again we were too close to be pushed apart, and it was heaven.

I was kissing my savior, my hero, my one light shining in the abyss. Hazel eyes, golden blond hair, I loved it all.

Joey Wheeler.

_**Fin**_**.**

~(-)~

WHOO~! It's finally done. I thank all of you reviewers who reviewed this story, I love you all. :)


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